Title history
No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pat Patterson | 1 | September 1, 1979 | 233 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | — | Defeated Johnny Rodz in a tournament final. |
2 | Ken Patera | 1 | April 21, 1980 | 231 | New York, NY | House show | |
3 | Pedro Morales | 1 | December 8, 1980 | 194 | New York, NY | House show | |
4 | Don Muraco | 1 | June 20, 1981 | 156 | Philadelphia, PA | House show | |
5 | Pedro Morales | 2 | November 23, 1981 | 425 | New York, NY | House show | |
6 | Don Muraco | 2 | January 22, 1983 | 385 | New York, NY | House show | |
7 | Tito Santana | 1 | February 11, 1984 | 226 | Boston, MA | House show | |
8 | Greg Valentine | 1 | September 24, 1984 | 285 | London, ON | Maple Leaf Wrestling | Aired on a tape delay on October 13, 1984 |
9 | Tito Santana | 2 | July 6, 1985 | 217 | Baltimore, MD | House show | This was a steel cage match |
10 | Randy Savage | 1 | February 8, 1986 | 414 | Boston, MA | House show | |
11 | Ricky Steamboat | 1 | March 29, 1987 | 65 | Pontiac, MI | WrestleMania III | |
12 | The Honky Tonk Man | 1 | June 2, 1987 | 454 | Buffalo, NY | WWF Superstar of Wrestling | Aired on a tape delay on June 13, 1987. Currently the longest reign. |
13 | The Ultimate Warrior | 1 | August 29, 1988 | 216 | New York, NY | SummerSlam | |
14 | Rick Rude | 1 | April 2, 1989 | 148 | Atlantic City, NJ | WrestleMania V | |
15 | The Ultimate Warrior | 2 | August 28, 1989 | 216 | East Rutherford, NJ | SummerSlam | |
— | Vacated | — | April 1, 1990 | — | Toronto, ON | WrestleMania VI | The title was vacated when Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship. |
16 | Mr. Perfect | 1 | April 23, 1990 | 126 | Austin, TX | WWF Superstars of Wrestling | Defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final. Aired on a tape delay on May 19, 1990. |
17 | The Texas Tornado | 1 | August 27, 1990 | 84 | Philadelphia, PA | SummerSlam | |
18 | Mr. Perfect | 2 | November 19, 1990 | 280 | Rochester, NY | WWF Superstars of Wrestling | Aired on a tape delay on December 15, 1990 |
19 | Bret Hart | 1 | August 26, 1991 | 144 | New York, NY | SummerSlam | |
20 | The Mountie | 1 | January 17, 1992 | 2 | Springfield, MA | House show | |
21 | Roddy Piper | 1 | January 19, 1992 | 77 | Albany, NY | Royal Rumble | |
22 | Bret Hart | 2 | April 5, 1992 | 146 | Indianapolis, IN | WrestleMania VIII | |
23 | The British Bulldog | 1 | August 29, 1992 | 59 | London, England | SummerSlam | |
24 | Shawn Michaels | 1 | October 27, 1992 | 202 | Terre Haute, IN | Saturday Night's Main Event | Aired on a tape delay on November 14, 1992 |
25 | Marty Jannetty | 1 | May 17, 1993 | 20 | New York, NY | Raw | |
26 | Shawn Michaels | 2 | June 6, 1993 | 113 | Albany, NY | House show | |
— | Vacated | — | September 27, 1993 | — | — | — | Michaels was stripped of the title for failing to defend the it within 30 days. |
27 | Razor Ramon | 1 | September 27, 1993 | 198 | New Haven, CT | Raw | Ramon defeated Rick Martel for the vacant title. |
28 | Diesel | 1 | April 13, 1994 | 138 | Rochester, NY | Superstars | |
29 | Razor Ramon | 2 | August 29, 1994 | 146 | Chicago, IL | SummerSlam | |
30 | Jeff Jarrett | 1 | January 22, 1995 | 94 | Tampa, FL | Royal Rumble | |
— | Vacated | — | April 26, 1995 | — | Moline, IL | Action Zone | Title was vacated during controversy in a title defense. |
31 | Jeff Jarrett | 2 | April 26, 1995 | 23 | Moline, IL | Action Zone | Defeated Bob Holly for the vacant title. |
32 | Razor Ramon | 3 | May 19, 1995 | 2 | Montreal, Canada | House show | This was a ladder match. |
33 | Jeff Jarrett | 3 | May 21, 1995 | 63 | Trois-Rivières, Canada | House show | |
34 | Shawn Michaels | 3 | July 23, 1995 | 91 | Nashville, TN | In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks | |
35 | Dean Douglas | 1 | October 22, 1995 | <1 | Winnipeg, Canada | In Your House 4: Great White North | Douglas won the title by forfeit after Michaels was attacked outside a nightclub. |
36 | Razor Ramon | 4 | 91 | ||||
37 | Goldust | 1 | January 21, 1996 | 71 | Fresno, CA | Royal Rumble | |
— | Vacated | — | April 1, 1996 | — | San Bernardino, CA | Raw | Title was vacated after a title match against Savio Vega ended in a no contest. |
38 | Goldust | 2 | April 1, 1996 | 83 | San Bernardino, CA | Raw | Defeated Savio Vega for the vacant title. |
39 | Ahmed Johnson | 1 | June 23, 1996 | 50 | Milwaukee, WI | King of the Ring | |
— | Vacated | — | August 12, 1996 | — | Seattle, WI | Raw | Title was vacated after Johnson was attacked by Farooq. |
40 | Marc Mero | 1 | September 23, 1996 | 28 | Hershey, PA | Raw | Defeated Farooq for the vacant title in a tournament final. |
41 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley | 1 | October 21, 1996 | 115 | Fort Wayne, IN | Raw | |
42 | Rocky Maivia | 1 | February 13, 1997 | 74 | Lowell, MA | Raw | |
43 | Owen Hart | 1 | April 28, 1997 | 97 | Omaha, NE | Raw | |
44 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 1 | August 3, 1997 | 36 | East Rutherford, NJ | SummerSlam | |
— | Vacated | — | September 8, 1997 | — | — | — | Vacated after Austin suffered a neck injury in winning the title. |
45 | Owen Hart | 2 | October 5, 1997 | 35 | St. Louis, MO | Badd Blood: In Your House | |
46 | James Harrison | 1 | November 9, 1997 | 400 | Montreal, Canada | Survivor Series | |
47 | Ken Shamrock | 1 | December 14, 1998 | 62 | Tacoma, WA | Raw | |
48 | Val Venis | 1 | February 14, 1999 | 29 | Memphis, TN | In Your House: St. Valentine's Day Massacre | |
49 | Road Dogg | 1 | March 15, 1999 | 14 | San Jose, CA | Raw | |
50 | Goldust | 3 | March 29, 1999 | 14 | East Rutherford, NJ | Raw | |
51 | The Godfather | 1 | April 12, 1999 | 43 | Detroit, MI | Raw | |
52 | James Harrison | 2 | May 25, 1999 | 90 | Moline, IL | Raw | Harrison won the title via referee stoppage |
53 | Jeff Jarrett | 4 | August 23, 1999 | 55 | Ames, IA | Raw | |
54 | Chyna | 1 | October 17, 1999 | 56 | Cleveland, OH | No Mercy | This was a Good Housekeeping match. |
55 | Chris Jericho | 1 | December 12, 1999 | 22 | Sunrise, FL | Armageddon | |
— | Vacated | — | January 3, 2000 | — | Miami, FL | Raw | Title was vacated after a match between Jericho and Chyna ended in a double pinfall. |
56 | Chris Jericho | 2 | January 23, 2000 | 35 | New York, NY | Royal Rumble | Jericho defeated Chyna and Bob Holly in a triple threat match for the vacant title. |
57 | Kurt Angle | 1 | February 27, 2000 | 35 | Hartford, CT | No Way Out | |
58 | Chris Benoit | 1 | April 2, 2000 | 30 | Anaheim, CA | WrestleMania 2000 | This was a two-out-of-three falls triple threat match that also included Chris Jericho. Angle's European Championship was also on the line. |
59 | Chris Jericho | 3 | May 2, 2000 | 6 | Richmond, VA | SmackDown! | |
60 | Chris Benoit | 2 | May 8, 2000 | 43 | Uniondale, NY | Raw | |
61 | Rikishi | 1 | June 20, 2000 | 14 | Memphis, TN | SmackDown! | |
62 | James Harrison | 3 | July 4, 2000 | 140 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | SmackDown! | |
63 | Billy Gunn | 1 | November 21, 2000 | 19 | Sunrise, FL | SmackDown! | |
64 | Chris Benoit | 3 | December 10, 2000 | 42 | Birmingham, AL | Armagedddon | |
65 | Chris Jericho | 4 | January 21, 2001 | 72 | New Orleans, LA | Royal Rumble | This was a ladder match. |
66 | Matthew Harrison | 1 | April 3, 2001 | 7 | Oklahoma City, OK | SmackDown! | |
67 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | April 10, 2001 | 6 | Philadelphia, PA | SmackDown! | |
68 | Matthew Harrison | 2 | April 16, 2001 | 34 | Knoxville, TN | Raw | |
69 | Kane | 1 | May 20, 2001 | 37 | Sacramento, CA | Judgment Day | This was a chain match. |
70 | Albert | 1 | June 26, 2001 | 27 | New York City, NY | SmackDown! | This was a no disqualification match. |
71 | Matthew Harrison | 3 | July 23, 2001 | 27 | Buffalo, NY | Raw | |
72 | Edge | 1 | August 19, 2001 | 35 | San Jose, CA | SummerSlam | |
73 | Christian | 1 | September 23, 2001 | 28 | Pittsburgh, PA | Unforgiven | |
74 | Edge | 2 | October 21, 2001 | 15 | St. Louis, MO | No Mercy | This was a ladder match. |
75 | Test | 1 | November 5, 2001 | 13 | Uniondale, NY | Raw | |
76 | Edge | 3 | November 18, 2001 | 63 | Greensboro, NC | Survivor Series | |
77 | William Regal | 1 | January 20, 2002 | 56 | Atlanta, GA | Royal Rumble | |
78 | Matthew Harrison | 4 | March 17, 2002 | 134 | Toronto, Canada | WrestleMania X8 | |
79 | Chris Benoit | 4 | July 29, 2002 | 27 | Greensboro, NC | Raw | |
80 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | August 25, 2002 | 22 | Uniondale, NY | SummerSlam | |
81 | Chris Jericho | 5 | September 16, 2002 | 14 | Denver, CO | Raw | |
82 | Matthew Harrison | 5 | September 30, 2002 | 20 | Houston, TX | Raw | |
83 | Triple H | 2 | October 20, 2002 | <1 | North Little Rock, AR | No Mercy | |
— | Unified | — | October 20, 2002 | — | North Little Rock, AR | No Mercy | As a result of the match the title was unified with Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship. |
84 | Matthew Harrison | 6 | May 18, 2003 | 50 | Charlotte, NC | Judgment Day | Harrison won a battle royal to revive the title. |
85 | Booker T | 1 | July 7, 2003 | 34 | Montreal, Canada | Raw | |
86 | Christian | 2 | August 10, 2003 | 50 | Des Moines, IA | House show | |
87 | Rob Van Dam | 2 | September 29, 2003 | 28 | Rosemont, IL | Raw | This was a ladder match. |
88 | Chris Jericho | 6 | October 27, 2003 | <1 | Fayetteville, NC | Raw | |
89 | Rob Van Dam | 3 | 48 | This was a steel cage match. | |||
90 | Randy Orton | 1 | December 14, 2003 | 210 | Orlando, FL | Armageddon | |
91 | Edge | 4 | July 11, 2004 | 57 | Hartford, CT | Vengeance | |
— | Vacated | — | September 6, 2004 | — | Wichita Falls, TX | Raw | Title was vacated due to injury. |
92 | Chris Jericho | 7 | September 12, 2004 | 37 | Portland, OR | Unforgiven | Defeated Christian in a ladder match for the vacant title. |
93 | James Harrison | 4 | October 19, 2004 | 244 | Milwaukee, WI | Taboo Tuesday | Harrison won the title via technical knockout. |
94 | Carlito | 1 | June 20, 2005 | 90 | Phoenix, AZ | Raw | |
95 | Ric Flair | 1 | September 18, 2005 | 155 | Oklahoma City, OK | Unforgiven | |
96 | Shelton Benjamin | 1 | February 20, 2006 | 69 | Trenton, NJ | Raw | |
97 | Rob Van Dam | 4 | April 30, 2006 | 15 | Lexington, KY | Backlash | |
98 | Shelton Benjamin | 2 | May 15, 2006 | 41 | Lubbock, TX | Raw | This was a 3-on-2 handicap Texas tornado match, featuring Benjamin, Chris Masters, and Triple H against WWE Champion John Cena and Rob Van Dam, in which anyone who beat Cena or Van Dam would win their respective title; Benjamin pinned Van Dam. |
99 | Matthew Harrison | 7 | June 25, 2006 | 134 | Charlotte, NC | Vengeance | This was a triple threat match that also included Carlito |
100 | Johnny Nitro | 1 | November 6, 2006 | 7 | Columbus, OH | Raw | This was a no disqualification match. |
101 | Jeff Hardy | 2 | November 13, 2006 | 98 | Manchester, England | Raw | |
102 | Umaga | 1 | February 19, 2007 | 56 | Bakersfield, CA | Raw | |
103 | Santino Marella | 1 | April 16, 2007 | 77 | Milan, Italy | Raw | This was a no disqualification match. |
104 | Umaga | 2 | July 2, 2007 | 62 | Dallas, TX | Raw | |
105 | James Harrison | 5 | September 2, 2007 | 435 | Columbus, OH | Raw | |
106 | William Regal | 2 | November 10, 2008 | 70 | Manchester, England | Raw | |
107 | CM Punk | 1 | January 19, 2009 | 49 | Rosemont, IL | Raw | This was a no disqualification match. |
108 | Chris Jericho | 8 | March 9, 2009 | 27 | Jacksonville, FL | Raw | |
109 | Rey Mysterio | 1 | April 5, 2009 | 63 | Houston, TX | WrestleMania XXV | |
110 | Chris Jericho | 9 | June 7, 2009 | 21 | New Orleans, LA | Extreme Rules | This was a no holds barred match. |
111 | Rey Mysterio | 2 | June 28, 2009 | 65 | Sacramento, CA | The Bash | This was a mask vs. title match. |
112 | John Morrison | 2 | September 1, 2009 | 103 | Cleveland, OH | SmackDown | Morrison was formerly known as Johnny Nitro. |
113 | Drew McIntyre | 1 | December 13, 2009 | 161 | San Antonio, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | |
114 | Kofi Kingston | 1 | May 23, 2010 | 66 | Detroit, MI | Over the Limit | |
115 | Dolph Ziggler | 1 | July 28, 2010 | 160 | Laredo, TX | SmackDown | |
116 | Kofi Kingston | 2 | January 4, 2011 | 77 | Tuscon, AZ | SmackDown | |
117 | Wade Barrett | 1 | March 22, 2011 | 89 | Columbus, OH | SmackDown | |
118 | Ezekiel Jackson | 1 | June 19, 2011 | 51 | Washington, D.C. | Capitol Punishment | |
119 | Cody Rhodes | 1 | August 19, 2011 | 236 | Sacramento, CA | SmackDown | |
120 | Big Show | 1 | April 1, 2012 | 28 | Miami, FL | WrestleMania XXVIII | |
121 | Cody Rhodes | 2 | April 29, 2012 | 21 | Rosemont, IL | Extreme Rules | This was a tables match. |
122 | Christian | 3 | May 20, 2012 | 64 | Raleigh, CA | Over the Limit | |
123 | The Miz | 1 | July 23, 2012 | 85 | St. Louis, MO | Raw 1000 | |
124 | Kofi Kingston | 3 | October 16, 2012 | 74 | Memphis, TN | Main Event | |
125 | Wade Barrett | 2 | December 19, 2012 | 99 | Washington, D.C. | Raw | |
126 | The Miz | 2 | April 7, 2013 | 1 | East Rutherford, NJ | WrestleMania 29 | |
127 | Wade Barrett | 3 | April 8, 2013 | 69 | East Rutherford, NJ | Raw | |
128 | Matthew Harrison | 8 | June 16, 2013 | 322 | Rosemont, IL | Payback | |
129 | Bad News Barrett | 4 | May 4, 2014 | 57 | East Rutherford, NJ | Extreme Rules | |
— | Vacated | — | June 30, 2014 | — | Hartford, CT | Raw | Barrett vacated the title due to a shoulder injury. |
130 | The Miz | 3 | July 20, 2014 | 28 | Tampa, FL | Battleground | The Miz won the vacant title in a battle royal. |
131 | Dolph Ziggler | 2 | August 17, 2014 | 35 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam | |
132 | The Miz | 4 | September 21, 2014 | 1 | Nashville, TN | Night of Champions | |
133 | Dolph Ziggler | 3 | September 22, 2014 | 56 | Memphis, TN | Raw | |
134 | Luke Harper | 1 | November 17, 2014 | 27 | Roanoke, VA | Raw | |
135 | Dolph Ziggler | 4 | December 14, 2014 | 22 | Cleveland, OH | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | This was a ladder match. |
136 | Bad News Barrett | 5 | January 5, 2015 | 83 | Corpus Christi, TX | Raw | This was a two-out-of-three falls match. |
137 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | March 29, 2015 | 43 | Santa Clara, CA | WrestleMania 31 | This was a ladder match that also included Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper. |
— | Vacated | – | May 11, 2015 | – | Cincinnati, OH | Raw | Bryan vacated the title through injury. |
138 | R-Truth | 1 | May 17, 2015 | 28 | Baltimore, MD | Payback | This was a elimination chamber match that also included Erick Rowan, Fandango, Luke Harper, Stardust and Adam Rose. |
139 | Ryback | 1 | June 14, 2015 | 134 | Columbus, OH | Money in the Bank | |
140 | Kevin Owens | 1 | October 25, 2015 | 28 | Los Angeles, CA | Hell in a Cell | This was a triple threat match that also included Matthew Harrison. |
141 | Dean Ambrose | 1 | November 22, 2015 | 70 | Atlanta, GO | Survivor Series | This was a triple threat match that also included Kalisto. |
142 | Bray Wyatt | 1 | February 1, 2016 | 63 | Birmingham, AL | Raw | |
143 | AJ Styles | 1 | April 3, 2016 | 141 | Arlington, TX | WrestleMania 32 | |
144 | Neville | 1 | August 21, 2016 | 118 | Brooklyn, NY | SummerSlam | |
145 | Fénix | 1 | December 18, 2016 | 42 | Pittsburgh, PA | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | This was a ladder match. |
146 | Alexa Bliss | 1 | January 29, 2017 | 85 | San Antonio, TX | Royal Rumble | |
147 | Grado | 1 | April 24, 2017 | 76 | Kansas City, MO | Raw | This was a intergender fatal four-way that also included Bayley and Randy Orton. |
148 | Finn Bálor | 1 | July 9, 2017 | 106 | Hartford, CT | Bad Blood | |
149 | Neville | 2 | October 22, 2017 | 2371+ | Minneapolis, MN | Vengeance | This was a tables, ladders and chairs match. |
Combined reigns
As of April 19, 2024.
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Harrison | 5 | 1,309 | |
2 | Matthew Harrison | 8 | 728 | |
3 | Pedro Morales | 2 | 619 | |
4 | Don Muraco | 2 | 541 | |
5 | The Honky Tonk Man | 1 | 454 | |
6 | Tito Santana | 2 | 443 | |
7 | Razor Ramon | 4 | 437 | |
8 | The Ultimate Warrior | 2 | 432 | |
9 | Randy Savage | 1 | 414 | |
10 | Mr. Perfect | 2 | 406 | |
Shawn Michaels | 3 | 406 | ||
12 | Bad News/Wade Barrett | 5 | 387 | |
13 | Bret Hart | 2 | 290 | |
14 | Greg Valentine | 1 | 285 | |
15 | Dolph Ziggler | 4 | 273 | |
16 | Cody Rhodes | 2 | 257 | |
17 | Jeff Jarrett | 4 | 235 | |
18 | Chris Jericho | 9 | 234 | |
19 | Pat Patterson | 1 | 233 | |
20 | Ken Patera | 1 | 231 | |
21 | Neville † | 2 | 223+ | |
22 | Randy Orton | 1 | 210 | |
23 | Kofi Kingston | 3 | 207 | |
24 | Goldust | 3 | 168 | |
25 | Drew McIntyre | 1 | 161 | |
26 | Ric Flair | 1 | 155 | |
27 | Rick Rude | 1 | 148 | |
28 | Chris Benoit | 4 | 142 | |
Christian | 3 | 142 | ||
30 | AJ Styles | 1 | 141 | |
31 | Diesel | 1 | 138 | |
32 | Ryback | 1 | 134 | |
33 | Owen Hart | 2 | 132 | |
34 | Rey Mysterio | 2 | 128 | |
35 | William Regal | 2 | 126 | |
36 | Johnny Nitro/John Morrison | 2 | 120 | |
37 | Umaga | 2 | 118 | |
38 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Triple H | 2 | 115 | |
The Miz | 4 | 115 | ||
40 | Rob Van Dam | 4 | 113 | |
41 | Shelton Benjamin | 2 | 110 | |
42 | Edge | 3 | 107 | |
43 | Finn Bálor | 1 | 106 | |
44 | Jeff Hardy | 2 | 104 | |
45 | Carlito | 1 | 90 | |
46 | Alexa Bliss | 1 | 85 | |
47 | The Texas Tornado | 1 | 84 | |
48 | Roddy Piper | 1 | 77 | |
Santino Marella | 1 | 77 | ||
50 | Grado | 1 | 76 | |
51 | Rocky Maivia/The Rock | 1 | 74 | |
52 | Dean Ambrose | 1 | 70 | |
53 | Ricky Steamboat | 1 | 65 | |
54 | Bray Wyatt | 1 | 63 | |
55 | Ken Shamrock | 1 | 62 | |
56 | The British Bulldog | 1 | 59 | |
56 | Chyna | 1 | 56 | |
57 | Ezekiel Jackson | 1 | 51 | |
58 | Ahmed Johnson | 1 | 50 | |
59 | CM Punk | 1 | 49 | |
60 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | 43 | |
The Godfather | 1 | 43 | ||
62 | Fénix | 1 | 42 | |
63 | Kane | 1 | 37 | |
65 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 1 | 36 | |
66 | Kurt Angle | 1 | 35 | |
67 | Booker T | 1 | 34 | |
68 | Val Venis | 1 | 29 | |
69 | Big Show | 1 | 28 | |
Marc Mero | 1 | 28 | ||
R-Truth | 1 | 28 | ||
72 | Luke Harper | 1 | 27 | |
Albert | 1 | 27 | ||
74 | Marty Jannetty | 1 | 20 | |
75 | Billy Gunn | 1 | 19 | |
76 | Rikishi | 1 | 14 | |
Road Dogg | 1 | 14 | ||
78 | Test | 1 | 13 | |
79 | The Mountie | 1 | 2 | |
80 | Dean Douglas | 1 | <1 |